Monday, January 10 to Monday, January 17, 2022
One of the main reasons boaters like to get to port before dark is that it’s really difficult to know what’s ahead of you. Sometimes that’s true even at dusk as in this photo. Can you see the entrance to the marina? Nope? Neither could we.
Thank goodness for charts, though. We proceeded cautiously and were rewarded with a manmade cut that opened up into the Bay of Five Pirates and a dredged channel that took us right, then left, then right again to one of the best protected marinas in all the Bahamas.
Mike and Sheri on Fantasea had sailed in from St. Petersburg, FL and were waiting for the four boats. They had received our dock assignments from the office which closed 45 minutes before we arrived. How wonderful to see them again and to share a big hug after so many months. Now four of the six boats from last year were together again. I can’t help but reflect that in 2020 when our trip began, we were focused on visiting new places. This time around, it’s more about the people and being with our friends again.
After a quick dinner, Sheri told us everyone had been invited to an impromptu jam session aboard Valkyrie, a 75’ luxurious Fleming motor yacht. Anyone with an instrument was encouraged to bring it along. We just brought our voices and appreciation for the talent and hospitality of our newly introduced hosts, Val and Ray. They are from Pensacola, FL and fly in and out on their private plane to live on Valkyrie for about half the year. They also keep a 35’ center console boat as their tender and use it for day fishing trips. (More about this later.) The songs were mostly new to David and me but we joined in on the choruses like everyone else! Here are links to two of our new favorites: Lyle Lovett’s “If I Had a Boat,” and Brandy Clark’s “Stripes.”
The next day eight of us headed out to explore the island on foot. It was cool and a little drizzly but that didn’t dampen our spirits. Once out of the marina, it began to feel more like the authentic Bahamas. Here’s Bonner Drop Off which appeared to be a conch shack but we never saw anyone there.
Upon further investigation, we learned we could also buy coconut trees—but only with cash or credit card.
We soon came upon our desired destination, a beach bar for lunch with a view.
I don’t think I’ll ever tire of looking at that water.
Another day we explored the ruins of the once very chic Clubhouse, part of a $38 million development that began in 1969. We were told that the “exclusive hideaway” attracted the rich and famous —Cary Grant, Brigitte Bardo, Jack Nicklaus, Ingrid Bergman, the Rat Pack— and other glitterati. It lasted only about 10 years, however, and now only remnants remain.
There’s quite a history to how the development happened on this island.
Five families of ex-slaves settled here back in the mid-1800’s, making their living as sponge fishermen and eventually lobster trappers. By the 1920’s the population had grown to 400 but dwindled as folks left to pursue opportunities elsewhere (mostly Nassau and the US). By the 1960’s only about 150 people still lived on Manalapan Island, as it was then called. But in 1966 Lou Chesler arrived with his partner Meyer Lansky, whose dream of a gambling empire began with a hotel you might have heard of, The Sands in Las Vegas, Nevada. Let’s just say, these men were used to getting what they wanted.
Meyer Lansky’s gambling holdings in Cuba were crushed when Castro brought Communism to the island. He set his sights on the Bahamas as the next location to build his casinos. Lansky and Chesler built the Lucayan Beach Hotel, golf course, and marina in Freeport in 1964 in anticipation of a lucrative casino license from the Bahamian government. They also set up a real estate company, Roberts Realty, which brokered the historic land deal that made the development of this island possible. In effect, most of the island was sold to Lansky and Chesler and they changed the name to Great Harbour Cay. The scrub growth was bulldozed for an 18-hole golf course, a 3,000 foot airstrip was built, The Clubhouse was constructed on the highest point of the island, the Beach Club was built on a beautiful stretch of sand (where we ate lunch) and a marina (where we stayed) was developed with townhouses lining its docks and a channel (see video above) was blasted through the rocks, giving direct access to the ocean. So, in some part, I guess we have the Mafia to thank (?) for such a special spot.
We had two more Adult Day Camp adventures while waiting for good weather to sail further south. One day 10 of us jumped in the back of the marina manager’s pick-up and he drove us out to a beautiful beach. He gave us directions to walk at low tide to the “little cay over here,” and then something about returning by way of a path through the water “back over there.”
I think we all left our adult sensibilities at home that morning because this has to be one of the stupidest things we’ve done in a while. Basically, when we got to the “little cay over here,” the tide had come in and we really had no idea how to get back to where he was to meet us. We waded through waist high water for over an hour and a half, slogging our way back to shore. David and I ached where we didn’t even know we had muscles…..well, at least the water was warm.
The next day we thought it better to ride on top of the water rather than try to walk through it. Off we went to go snorkeling and visit a blue hole near Rat Cay. Some of our friends had brought their depth meters, nifty little flashlight-like gizmos that read the water depth. They’re great fun when zipping along in the dinghies, especially when the depths go from 24” to 36’ to 75’ to, well, too deep to measure in a just a few seconds. While snorkeling around, Sue called out that she’d found an anchor buried in the sand. Then she said that she thought it might be a Rocna (a rather expensive brand). Now that got everyone’s attention! Fins were on, masks deployed, and the hunt was on. Turned out to be just a piece of bent stainless tubing but it sure was fun to be 9-years-old again, hunting for treasure!
With another Saturday night came another invitation to sing along on Valkyrie. Twenty of us gathered in Val and Jay’s boat to enjoy guitar, ukulele, and keyboard renditions of sea shanties, cowboy ballads, folk, rock, and bawdy tunes. A good time was had by all!
But tomorrow the weather looks good and we are sailing south to anchor off Little Harbour Cay and then sail again to West Bay near Nassau. From there we will head to the Exumas Land and Sea Park and be off the grid for a while. I’ll pick this up when we have connectivity again.
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